Acti: True Crime wouldn’t have hit “the top” of its genre

Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg has said one of the reasons True Crime: Hong Kong was canceled, was due to the firm’s belief that the actioner would not reach “the top” of its genre.

Speaking in an interview with Joystiq, Hirshberg said the game’s development budget and delays were, in a sense, also a contributing factor in its cancellation.

“The game had been delayed twice; the budget had been increased twice; and it had ballooned to a size where it was going to have to be a pretty incredible success in order to be worth the investment that it was taking to get it done,” Hirshberg said of the United Front Games title.

Hirshberg goes on to say that when the game was greenlit by Activision, there was room in the marketplace for games with such a large scope as True Crime: Hong Kong. However, in the end, according to the CEO, the decision not to release the game came down to quality.

“Just a few years back, there was room for a lot more titles to find an audience of scale.” he said. “The finished product was not going to be at the top of that genre.

“The only reason I’m hesitating [on offering an opinion] isn’t due to lack of transparency, it’s due to respect for the people who were making it who I think are incredibly talented and really brought their all and I don’t want to say anything to disparage their efforts.

“That’s a super-competitive genre with some of the world’s best games in it.”

True Crime: Hong Kong was announced during the 2009 Spike Video Game Awards, and was confirmed as canceled by Activision earlier this year during a financial call to investors.

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@2: Absolutely agree with you. A stupid decision, especially because you’d be playing a cop, not a gangster. This is a huge difference, i enjoy playing a cop way more than playing a gangster. And the City is something we have not seen in other games before.

Activision takes no risks, no matter what they say. No Balls, just business.

Neither of you have to sign off the money for it though. Two delays is always going to be two delays too many, and you’re talking about millions of dollars each time.

Not that Activision doesn’t have them, but that doesn’t mean they want to throw them away.

I personally didn’t see anything from the game that even came close to either GTA, Just Cause or Saints Row, so based on what’s actually out there, I definitely wouldn’t have kept throwing millions at the guys responsible.

Look at Duke Nukem Forever. That’s what happens if you keep throwing money at a game

@7 I’ve seen that. It looks extremely similar to Saints Row, and the combat system doesn’t look good at all. The targeting looks awful and they’re all standing around waiting for the guy to compelete his animation.

I really don’t see much to get excited about for a guy running through an asian street with a few cutscenes, jumping off a building and awkwardly fighting a few thugs. Beyond the asian street, we’ve done that already.

@8 That’s another thing, if it had been close to finished, then Activision could either ship it themselves, or sell it off to recoup some of their losses. That, and the fact that the guy leading the studio seemed to understand why it got canned has me thinking that it wasn’t all that.

EA managed to ship The Saboteur in a rough state when they were in a rush to close down Pandemic.

not a huge fan of these games in general. even gta after vice city left me extremely unimpressed. too much tough guy shit and senseless violence – that must not be a bad thing but in gta i find it disturbing in a way, don´t know why. these games put me in a bad mood. i managed to play through IV. technically it was great but i got bored really fast. liberty city on psp was fun but vice city psp was one of my few unfinished games. it´s always weak if a publisher cans a game. it´s superbad for devs as well.

@11 Really, you think so? I thought it looked pretty boring personally. It’s all black buildings with sporadic neon signs and people standing around doing nothing.

Take the Witcher 2 as an example. I’m amazed at how many people are actually walking around doing specific things, like threatening vendors to join their guild. I realize you can’t expect that from a true open world game, but vivid? How?

@10 All of which will probably be finished on time. People aren’t going to throw money at you if you don’t deliver, Erth.

We can all agree that Activision has a wide range of studios that are pretty crap, and producing games that are pretty crap, but they probably meet their deadlines.

@7 OH MY GOD THAT FOOTAGE ! Why they canned Assassin Creed:Hong Kong :((
How stupid someone can be to make a sequel to x man or that child game spider man shattered dimensions and canned this is just beyond me…..
@13 But sandbox game are selling like Saint Row,Assasin Creed because they are not many on market and they are rare.

True Crime was basically made by the studio who makes Modnation Racers and Modnation Racers is a solid title.
These guys could create a game right on time. True Crime is a sandbox, so it’s probably a big game. Delays are inevitable.

@13: Through the art-direction i suppose. Just look at the colours, the size of the crowds, the architecture, look at the walls, most of them have something on them or a different colour, with different patterns. A street market with people selling stuff, a butcher in some dirty alley chopping the meat on the table. It feels like a real city. But that’s something the developers from Saints Row never managed to do, especially in Red Faction.

You should watch the video again and compare it to Saints Row. If you still don’t see the difference, then … well can’t help you with that.

@17 Well I was mostly looking at the way it played. I guess it just doesn’t speak to me, the lighting is completely wrong, even if the buildings under it are incredibly beautiful, I just can’t appreciate it.

It doesn’t strike me as more authentic than the opening level in Kane and Lynch 2.

Crowds on their own isn’t enough, they have to be doing something. A game like State of Emergency was all about being in a huge crowd.

@16 The Saboteur was delayed, and that was in a horrible state. Prototype was delayed, and that was in a terrible state. Brütal Legend took five years, and that sucked. LA Noire took five years, and they couldn’t even make a proper female model, or a driving model for the cars.

And that’s obviously the sort of thing that Hirshberg fears they were in for.

The fact that a lead developer can’t finish his game on time is more often an indication that he isn’t the best at his job, rather than an indication that he’s awesome at it.

@20 The point is at the bottom. If you can’t finish your game on time, then that doesn’t speak well for your competence. It doesn’t mean that all delayed games suck, it just means that most often, it’s because people aren’t good enough at managing their projects.

I’m not saying that Pandemic shouldn’t have been shut down, but The Saboteur could’ve been an outstanding open world game if it had had more time and money.

@21: Well, Mass Effect 3 should’ve been done in a few months. Not only does it depend on the Developer but more likely on the Publisher. If they give you 3 years for a game which should take 5, then they shouldn’t be surprised that it needs more time. I think the game industry works a little bit different than others.

When you make a deal to develop a game, it includes two players. You and the publisher. The head of a studio has a direct responsibility to explain to the publisher how long a game should take, and why.

If he can’t do that, then he shouldn’t be in that position. George Broussard of 3D Realms is perhaps the most gargantuan example of that in history.

There are plenty of other developers who have no problem making amazing games in roughly 2 years – Why should the slow ones get special treatment?

@27: I’m just saying most of those amazing games that only take 2 years are being done on an engine that’s done. Probably a sequel with little changes to gameplay and graphics.

Open World Sandbox Games take more time. Sure the guys from whatever-their-name-is-something-about-front should have picked a better release-date, but i don’t think Activision would have allowed that. They want the quick buck, always. They wouldn’t even have the deal if they haven’t signed on such a short releasedate. The result would be another rushed True Crime game. Something the series is known for: Bugs and broken gameplay.

This one looked very promising.

Activision just doesn’t seem to comprehend what it takes to make a good Sandbox Open World Game.

My initial opinion stands: Activision has no balls.

Look at L.A. Noire for example. How much time that shitty game took, but Rockstar still pulled it through.

@28 The point isn’t how long it takes, or what technology you use, the point is that if you’re signing a contract to deliver a game within a certain timeframe, then you have to deliver within a certain timeframe, or face the consequences.

If you know you can’t deliver, and the publisher still demands you to, then you have two choices: Being fired now, or being fired later. Being fired later, with a failed project, and millions of dollars wasted doesn’t look good on a resumé, and ultimately that doesn’t speak for the competence of a project lead.

You’re entitled to your own theories on what Activision is and does, but ultimately, no matter which publisher you sign with, they expect results for their millions of dollars (most people who invest millions of dollars want something for them) and the fact that they scrap a project, and wave goodbye to all that money, probably means that it wasn’t worth it.

Why would a greedy, evil corporation throw money away? Because they’re concerned about quality? Not bloody likely. This is the company that made Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions.

I’m pretty sure even Take Two have cancelled projects that weren’t worth their money.

@30 You think the game looks good in a blurry E3 demo video lasting 3:49 seconds.

Don’t you think it’s slightly inadequate to base a multi-million dollar decision on so little? There was also some footage in an interview with the developers, but it really didn’t show very much.

Obviously Activision didn’t believe they’d get their money back, and based on the performance of Prototype, The Saboteur (both equally mismanaged projects) and Just Cause 2, I don’t see how that’s completely outside the realm of possibility.

Certainly not based on 3 minutes of game footage, that at least for me was pretty bland.

Watching those 3 minutes of gameplay was more fun than playing Saints Row 2 or L.A. Noire, that much i can tell.

It’s not the quality or the time, but the fact that Activision feared it would not make enough money. If it ever got released and actually wouldn’t make enough money i’d also blame Activision. Seeing how they work on games that are not Call of Duty. Great example for their work is the campaign on Singularity.

And why are you bringing up Just Cause 2 and Saboteur?

Just Cause 2: Eidos/Square Enix and sold 1.4 Mil. which seems to be enough for the developer to expend and open a new studio. The Saboteur was published by EA.

Just out of curiosity, those games that Acti churn out, like Spiderman, James bond etc, how did they actually perform. I’m guessing they must make a good return for the money invested to get sequals right?

And what was that open world game about the cop & his dog? Dead to Rights? That sank without a trace didn’t it? Maybe Activision judged this one right?

@32 That’s a lot of assumptions. You just know that 3 minutes and 49 seconds of that game was more fun than Saints Row 2 and LA Noire.

Well, that’s impressive. I have no idea, I only saw 3 minutes and 49 seconds of an E3 demo that looked a lot like everything else.

Just Cause 2 sales were hardly impressive considering the rest of the field, and that’s also a game that was delayed, which is more than likely why you aren’t seeing a third one right around the corner. I have no idea how Avalanche make their business decisions, or on what basis, though.

The Saboteur is a case of exactly the same happening. Pandemic couldn’t meet their deadlines, their game was rushed out the door in a less than finished state, and EA killed the studio immediately after. It’s common practice. The only difference is that The Saboteur was deemed worthy to ship.

Personally I get nervous as soon as I have 10 dollars riding on a game of poker. Betting your money generally shouldn’t be a casual activity, at least not for someone who cares to make some. I’d rather invest in a business that gets nervous when their money’s at risk, than a business that says “Fuck it, cover ‘em in gold” when someone fails to meet their contractual obligations.

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New PC screenshots of GTA 5 have been released along with word of a new trailer coming on Monday. The screens below are from the PC version and you can view them in 4K glory over on Rockstar Newswire. The PC version of GTA 5 releases on April 14.

PlayStation users in Europe will soon have its own a PSN Service Status Indicator. It was released earlier this month in North America. The indicator makes it easier to check whether PlayStation services are down or running as planned. This includes account management, PlayStation Now, the store, social services, etc. Sony told Eurogamer the service […]

Bioware is unable to discuss when the Jaws of Hakkon DLC for Dragon Age: Inquisition will arrive on platforms other than PC and Xbox One. According to various tweets from executive producer Mark Darrah, due to the exclusivity contract between EA and Microsoft, the studio is unable to announce a release date for PlayStation 3 […]

Square Enix offering another mystery bundle to customers in the UK, which comes with five mystery PC games for £3.99. As before, customers will be unaware of the games they are purchasing in the mystery bundle, but the bundle contains triple-A titles worth £40 combined. One of Square’s previous mystery bundles contained Tomb Raider, Just […]

Shadow Tower, the first-person action-RPG developed for the original PlayStation by From Software, will be released on PlayStation Network. In the 1998 title, players took on the role of a mercenary who has returned home to the Holy Land of Zeptar to find the place has been sucked into the Underworld. He must use the […]

PlayStation TV has received a price cut in the UK. After several retailers started offering the console for less than the RRP of £84.99, users on DealSpwn began to wonder whether this is an official price cut, and not just regular deals or stock clearance. Sony later confirmed the new price of £44.99. “Starting from […]

You can download Forza Horizon 2 expansion Fast & Furious starting right now. Forza Horizon 2 Presents Fast & Furious is available to download now through Xbox Live for Xbox One and Xbox 360. The expansion is standalone, so you don’t need to own Forza Horizon 2 to play it. It’s also free from now […]

The 20th DLC for PayDay 2, the Butcher’s BBQ Pack, is now available on Steam. The DLC will run you $4.99/€4.99 and features: Piglet Grenade Launcher, 12G Steakout Shotgun and Mk1 Flamethrower Molotov cocktails and incendiary ammo Four new masks, patterns, materials and achievements The Butcher’s BBQ Pack is another co-development between Overkill and Croatian […]

Amid the current turmoil between Hideo Kojima and publisher Konami, one studio has offered the legendary designer a position. Lords of the Fallen developer Deck 13 took to Twitter to extend a job offer to Hideo Kojima. Dear Mr. @HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN In case you are currently searching, we have an open position as Head of Game […]

The question on every Destiny player’s lips today. And the answer, supplied by resident Destiny expert Paul Davies, is… Yes! We asked Paul whether or not he thought Xur’s Exotic weapon this week was worth the 23 Strange Coins. Here’s what he said: “It was already a great gun to own for PVP owing to […]

According to Final Fantasy 15 director Hajime Tabata, the main cast of the game is all-male because it makes the game “more approachable.” Final Fantasy 15 director Hajime Tabata spoke to Gamespot about the reason for his choice of making the core cast an all-male affair. “Speaking honestly, an all-male party feels almost more approachable […]

Blizzard has given Hearthstone expansion Blackrock Mountain a solid release date. Hearthstone’s Blackrock Mountain adventure pack will be released April 2 in the Americas region, and April 3 in Europe, Korea, Taiwan, and China. Blackrock Depths is the first wing to be released, others will follow one week apart. Other than the 31 new cards, […]

If you’re having issues loading your Bloodborne save after applying firmware update 2.50 to your PS4, this should help you out. Reddit user KBALLZZ encountered an issue after installing update 2.50 on his PlayStation 4. Bloodborne started reinstalling the day one patch again and when it was done he couldn’t continue his game or load […]

Sony is offering a 10% discount coupon to anyone looking to buy games on PlayStation Store this weekend. Sony’s latest discount coupon code is here. You’ll receive 10% off your cart total when buying from the PSN Store. The offer is not valid on purchases made on PS Vita, PlayStation TV, PSP, or in-game stores. […]

Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin will offer returning customers a chance to upgrade at a discounted price. Those who already own Dark Souls 2 on Steam and are interested in picking up the Scholar of the First Sin edition will be happy to know that publisher Bandai Namco is offering them an […]

Insight is one of the currencies in Bloodborne, but it’s also a mechanic that affects the gameplay. There are MASSIVE SPOILERS below, so turn back now or one of Bloodborne’s gameplay mechanics will be SPOILED for you. Just like Blood Echoes in Bloodborne, Insight is used to purchase certain items from vendors in the game. […]

The second phase of the April update for Xbox One is now open to members of the Preview programme and and it looks like there are even more features in store. Phase one of Xbox One’s April firmware update started a few days ago with improvements to party chat and achievements notifications. Today, phase two […]

As of patch 1.8 for GTA 5 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, a few graphical issues have cropped up leading some to believe there has been a stealth downgrade to the game’s overall graphics. Over the past couple of days, Reddit went nuts over a video showing what appears to be a downgrade to […]

Xur: Agent of the Nine has arrived at The Tower in Destiny to rid you of your Strange Coins. Xur: Agent of the Nine has once again made it to Destiny’s Tower to sell you Exotic weapons and gear in exchange for Strange Coins and Motes of Light. For this weekend, Xur can be found […]

Destiny is finally getting the vault space upgrade players have been begging for almost since launch week. Destiny players can currently use vault space to store 20 pieces of amour, 20 weapons and 20 general item stacks. In the latest Bungle Weekly Update, the developer revealed that as of patch 1.1.2, due before House of […]

Half-Life 2: Update will be available tomorrow, and thanks to the modding community, those who own the vanilla version of the game can apply a visual update to the 2004 title. The comparison video shows you the differences between the original version, and the version with Half-Life 2: Update applied. Here’s what the mod includes: […]

You can now pre-download the free-to-play Neverwinter MMO on Xbox One. The game launches on March 31, but you will still need an Xbox Live Gold account to play it. Based on the Dungeons & Dragons franchise, the game can be downloaded from the Xbox Store.